When you’ve earned three consecutive world titles, what do you do
next? Well, of course, the pressure escalates because everyone else
is out to dethrone you, and it gets hard to keep pushing yourself.
Patrick Chan was
obviously over-the-moon when he set new ISU world records in both
sections of this event, but he is aware that the Olympics are
another kettle of fish. Strangely, Chan did not skate his Short
Program, last, which is determined by ISU standings.
Yazuru Hanu got that
honor.

Chan’s routine was set to Rachmaninov’s “Elergie in E Flat
Minor”. He opened with a perfectly executed quad toe loop to triple
toe loop jump. One judge even gave him the maximum Grade of
Execution of +3, while six others punched in the next highest award,
+2, and the remaining two contented themselves with a +1. That
earned him a total of 16.26 points! Then he nailed a triple Axel,
gaining five +2s and four +1s. His change foot camel spin was “only”
Level 3, with three +2s and the rest +1s.

His triple Lutz, set at the halfway mark, got two +3s, six +2s
and a +1.Then came his Flying sit spin, straight line steps and a
change foot combination spin. All three elements received the
maximum Level 4 from the Tech panel. The sit spin was given two +3s,
six +2s and a +1. The steps got a waterfall of seven +3s with only
two of the nine judges punching in +2. His final spin had unanimous
+2s. The component marks included two 10.00 for “Interpretation”.
There were two 8.50s and six 8.75. But the rest of the 36 marks were
in the nines. Apart from one judge who did not give any +3s, the
panel obviously enjoyed the performance and thought it was Olympic
gold medal material. Amazingly, Chan did not win on the Technical
score for the SP. Yuzuru Hanyu received 52.72, while Chan got 52.34.
However, on the component score, the Canadian was 3.53 points ahead
of his young Japanese rival.

“I was ecstatic at the way I skated,” Chan said. “I didn’t even
know I broke the record. If I can make a world record at the
Olympics it would be amazing. I’m looking at the Olympics, so I’m
really focused on that. A world record is a nice thing to say and a
nice thing to have. But the Olympics are a total different game.”
Chan, who turned 22 on New Year’s Eve, and is trained by
Kathy Johnson at the
Detroit SC, in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, praised the OmniSport
Arena in Bercy, which is right on the Seine. “It was nice to be in a
big space, because that’s where I can really flow and push.” (Arenas
in North America are the smaller hockey size.) “I didn’t feel
perfect in the air on a lot of the jumps, but that’s where training
comes into play. When you don’t have the best air position e in a
jump, it’s practice that gives you the ability to let the automatic
pilot kick in.”

The next day Chan also beat the Free Skate and overall record
score. Chan skated to music he has used in the past. “I went back to
my old programs to see which music pieces I felt most comfortable
with and we made our decision on that. Music, of course, is very
important in skatin, and it’s even more important to find pieces
which push you and don’t work against you.” He is using a
combination of pieces from “The Four Seasons” and “Concerto Grosso”.

He
again opened with a quad toe loop to triple toe loop, which this
time inspired five of the judges to punch in +3 and the other four
to give +2. That difference meant he earned slightly more over the
move’s base value of 14.40, than he did in the SP, and banked a
total of 16.97 for this incredibly difficult element.

The following quad toe loop was superior and earned four +2s and
five +1s for a total score of 11.73. The triple Axel, which
followed, received two +3s, five +2s and two +1s. His Level 4 steps
gained seven +3s and two +2s, while his Level 4 flying sit spin
received one +3, seven +2s and a +1. At the halfway mark, his three
jump combo of triple Lutz to single loop to triple Salchow received
six +1s and three +2s. Including the 10% bonus, he banked a total of
12.67 marks for this element. Next, he did three jumping passes,
receiving 7.70 for his second triple Lutz, 6.51 for his triple loop,
and 8.46 for his triple flip to double toe loop. His change foot
camel spin was “only” Level 3 and he banked 3.66. His double Axel
got 4.56. His choreographed section, which has only Level 1,
received five +3s and four +2s. He wrapped the routine up with a
change foot combination Level 3 spin earning 3.79.

One judge gave him 10 for three of the five component fields. Two
others gave 10 for two of the fields and one other gave 10 for
Performance & Execution. Four judges failed to award a 10, but the
other scores were all in the 9’s but one judge gave only 9.0 for
transitions and linking footwork! His total score for this section
was 196.75, and his overall score was 295.27, smashing his previous
best combined score (280.98) and his free record (187.96) from the
2011 worlds. The crowd gave him a standing, deafening ovation and he
blew kisses back to them.

The marks don’t impress Chan. He’s been in skating too long, to not
know success in one competition doesn’t mean the next will be
easier. “Obviously, there will be a much fiercer challenge in
Sochi,” he said. “But, it's going to be a goal of mine to be able to
click and think about moments like today and yesterday and to
envision the same performances at the Olympics.

“Music is really important. This is a piece of music that that I’ve
used before. It really meshed well with me. I could time my knee
bends, and my breathing to the music and that makes it easier
overall.” His next competition will be hard since the Grand Prix
Final is in Japan, Dec 5-8. Chan has said he doesn’t do well with
jetlag. (Dec. 5-8 Grand Prix Final in Fukuoka.)

In Paris, Chan said, "I felt truly free and I was really able to have
ownership of every moment I could skate. That's why we compete, -
not for the medals or the money. When you skate like this, it’s just
incomparable. Today, was a challenge because I've done very well in
the short program in the past but haven't had a good track record
with the long. So this was a marvelous moment.

"A score like that — if I put that up at the Olympics, I think it will
be very, very hard to beat. But this is a Grand Prix that I've been
to many times. The Olympics is only the second time for me (he
finished fifth in Vancouver) and I'm competing against the best
skaters in the world so it's a very different circumstance, a very
different, much more stressful atmosphere." Chan pointed out he felt
very comfortable in Paris. He speaks French and he has been to this
event several times. In fact, he made his Grand Prix debut here in
2006 when he finished fifth. He’s been back four times, winning in
2007, 2008, 2011 & now 2013.

Hanyu, who will turn 19 on December 7, was skating in his hometown
ice rink in Sendai, when the earthquake struck in 2011, a terrifying
situation but he was not hurt. The world championship had to be
relocated to Moscow from Japan. He now trains in Canada with twice
Olympic silver medalist, Brian Orser, with
Tracy
Wilson doing his choreography.

Skating to “Parisian Walkways” by Gary Moore, he earned two of the
maximum +3s for his opening quad toe loop, which was also awarded
five +2s and two +1s. His flying camel and change foot sit spins
were both the maximum Level 4 with the first receiving one +3 (which
was thrown out as one of the highest scores. The two lowest scores
are also dismissed.) That gave him an average GoE of +0.86 on the
camel and +0.71 on the sit.

His triple Axel, at the halfway mark, earned six +3s and three +2s
from the judges and he banked a total of 12.06 points for this
spectacular jump. His triple Lutz to triple toe loop was also set in
the second half to take advantage of the 10% bonus, and that
combination of jumps earned him a total of 12.01. His Level 3 steps
received two +3s, six +2s and a +1 which gave him a total of 4.21
points. He concluded with a Level 4 change foot combo spin, which
elicited five +1s and four +2s for a total of 4.21. He beat Chan by
a small margin of 0.38 on the Elements score but he was 3.53 behind
on the components.

Hanyu said he had been inspired by the huge reception Chan’s SP
performance received, and that energized him. His score of 95.37 was
a personal-best 95.37 points. He explained, “It’s been a while since
I have had an error-free short program so I am delighted.” His score
was the third highest in the world. “By being able to put everything
I have built up in practice out there, I have taken a step forward.I
can go into the free program with a bit of breathing space.”

He
began his Free nervously, singling his intended quad Salchow, and
earning only 0.17. Then he fell on his quad toe loop, although he
made the four turns and banked 7.30, less the one point deduction
for the fall. But he recovered brilliantly. His eleven other
elements all received good Grades of Execution despite an “e” for
wrong edge take-off on his triple flip.

He
even got a +3 for his combination of triple Axel to triple toe loop
set at the halfway stage, which earned a total of 15.86 points. He
was rewarded with two more +3 GoEs, one for his choreographed
section and one for his Level 4 flying change foot sit spin. His
other jumps, all in the second half, included a second triple Axel,
which was combined with a double toe loop; a triple loop; a triple
Axel-single loop-triple Salchow; and a second triple Lutz. All three
spins were Level 4 with good GoEs, and his step sequence, which was
his fourth element, was Level 3 with +0.50.

He
shook his head as he left the ice as the crowd warmly cheered him.
He also finished second in his first Grand Prix this season, in
Skate Canada.

The 18-year old, who will turn 19 on December 15, is from the
Chicago area but now trains in Monument, Colorado, with
Kori Ade. Although he has
placed 7th, 3rd, and 2nd, in the
world junior championships, he is not, yet, a well-known figure in
this sport. But the superb artistic showing he gave in Paris has
everyone talking about him. (In the United States, he has placed
ninth twice and was eighth in the last three U.S. Senior
championships.)

He
was second to skate in the SP, which was set to “The Question of U”
by Prince, which suited his appearance. He has long “hippie” hair
tied back. He opened with a +1.14 triple Axel, followed by a +1.10
triple flip to triple toe loop. His triple Lutz was set at the
halfway stage to take advantage of the 10% bonus marks for jumps in
the second half. All four moves, which are given Levels, gained the
maximum “4”. The flying camel spin gained eight +2s and one of the
maximum +3 Grade of Execution. His change foot sit spin was not as
spectacular but still good enough to bank an extra +0.57. His steps
gained three +3s, and his final move the change foot combination
spin received two +3s with the rest of the judging panel giving +2.
His components ranged from a low of one 7.00 up to a high of one
8.50. It was a hugely favorable impression for his first senior
Grand Prix.

After this section, speaking in the Press Conference for the top
three, he looked somewhat over-awed. He said, “To be sitting here in
the same event as these guys (Chan & Hanyu) is AMAZING! I hope this
is just the beginning for the rest of my career.” Although he
explains that he does practice quads every day, they are not yet in
his competitive repertoire.

His Free Skate was to Irish music, “Reel Around the Sun” by Bill
Whelan. Irish dance consists of very fast footwork, which is
difficult to translate onto the ice, but Brown did exceedingly well.
He opened with a double Axel. Some thought this was supposed to be a
triple, but that was NOT the case. He likes to ease into the
routine. His second element was planned as a triple Axel to triple
toe loop, but the first jump was slightly flawed and he did only a
double on second jump. It was the only flaw in the routine and he
lost just -0.14 from the element’s base value of 9.80.

His change foot camel spin was Level 4 and gained three of the
maximum +3 GoEs. Five of the other judges gave +2 and one only +1,
which still means superior. (The scale goes down to -3 for a fall.
To get 0, which means the full base value, the move must be done
correctly in all aspects.) But, because of the previous problem,
Brown approached his planned second triple Lutz a little tightly,
and singled it.

However, from then on, he didn’t put a foot wrong. His other two
spins were Level 4 with the change foot combination getting a +3,
and his Level 4 steps received one +3 with the rest of the panel
punching in +2. At the halfway mark, he earned +0.60 GoE for a
triple Lutz to loop to triple Salchow, which, including the 10%
bonus, earned him a total of 12.37 points. Then came a +0.20 triple
flip to triple toe loop and another double Axel, which gained +0.43.
The following triple Lutz gained unanimous +2s and his choreographed
steps received +3 from seven of the nine judges, with the other two
punching in +2. His last jump was a +0.70 triple loop, and he
wrapped it up with his final spin, a change foot combination, which
was rewarded with Level 4 and an extra +0.57. His components rose
from seven 7.50 up to eight 8.50s.

As
do many skaters, Brown started going to the rink, tagging along with
his older sister, and just got hooked on the sport. He is currently
working on a quad, making special trips to use a harness in Colorado
Springs. “I practice quads on the ice everyday, but they weren’t
quite ready for this event,” he says. “I know at this level I need
to do them. I’ve made good steps forward recently. I haven’t had my
triple Axel that long in good enough shape to do in the programs,
and I’m hoping, soon, to be at that point with the quad.”

Han Yan made a splash winning the Cup of China this season, in his
first Senior Grand Prix. Both his Short and long routines were
choreographed by Lori Nichol.
The SP was set to “Minor Waltz” from Double Jeux by Michel Portal
performed by Laurent Korcia, and Fats Waller’s “Viper’s Drag” by
performed by Nigel Kennedy

The 17-year-old from Harbin opened with his very unique triple Axel.
The style of normally doing this 3˝ revolution jump is to get as
much height as possible and to heck with the length! But this boy’s
Axels cover a lot of ground, and that, no doubt, is why six of the
nine judges gave him +3 for this move. (The other three punched in
+2.) That was followed by a +1.57 quad toe loop. His spins, however,
are not in the same league. The flying camel was Level 3 but with
only +0.07 added. (Seven judges punched in 0 and two +1.) The change
foot sit spin was also Level 3 and received better GoEs, and he got
+0.57 added to the base value. His triple Lutz to triple toe loop
lost -0.50. His steps were Level 3 and gained +0.64 GoE. But his
final element, the change foot combination was only level 2 with
+0.21. His components ranged from five 6.50s up to two 8.50.

His Free was set to “The Blue Danube” and “Gourmet Valse Tartare”.
Skating immediately after the second warm-up, he had a bad fall on
his initial move, a triple Axel, which was meant to be a
combination. He still banked 5.50 less the 1 point for the fall, and
quickly pulled himself together to execute a +0.43 quad toe loop to
triple toe loop, which earned a total of 14.83. That was followed by
a triple Axel to double toe loop. The second jump was not planned
and, though the combination earned a total of 7.2, it was to cause
him major grief.

His step sequence and flying camel spin were both Level 3 and both
received a GoE of +0.21. The following triple loop at the halfway
point was badly landed and lost -1.60. Then came the planned triple
Lutz to two double toe loops, but he singled the last one. His next
planned move was a triple flip to double toe loop, and though he
singled the second jump, the combination received no points at all.
It was classed as a fourth and, therefore, invalid element, and his
score for it was ZERO.

He
followed that with a Level 4 change foot combination spin which
earned an extra +0.21. Then he singled his planned second triple
Lutz. He recovered with a +0.60 triple Salchow. After his
choreographed section, exhausted, he concluded with a Level 2 change
foot sit spin which earned a total of 2.73. His components included
three 8.00s but went down to one 5.50 for Performance/Execution.

It
was a day to learn the lesson of watching the number of
combinations!

Skating sixth, the 23-year-old Czech, who now calls Hackensack, NJ,
home, opened his SP, set to Grieg’s “In the Hall of the Mountain
King” with a Quad Salchow. The landing wasn’t perfect, but he earned
9.79. That was followed by a triple flip to triple toe loop, in
which he had to do a double three turn between the jumps, which lost
him a full point. He fell on his triple Axel, which got an arrow for
slight under-rotation. However, all three spins and his steps were
Level 4. The change foot camel received an extra +0.43. The flying
sit spin just got its base value, which meant the move was
satisfactory in every aspect. His steps were rewarded with +0.80 and
his final move, the change foot combination spin received an extra
+0.29. He was sixth on both the element and component scores.

He
played Sherlock Holmes in the Free, which was a good idea. (He is
trained by Olympic champion Victor Petrenko.) He opened with a quad Salchow to double toe
loop but had to put a double three turn between the two jumps and
lost -1.29. His triple Axel was good and got an extra 1.29. Then he
tried a second quad Salchow but fell and got an arrow for slight
under-rotation. His flying sit spin was Level 4 with +0.50, and his
steps were Level 3 with +0.86. At the halfway point, he presented a
triple Axel to triple toe loop but fell again, on the second jump
which got an arrow for slight under-rotation. That upset him and he
singled the next move meant to be a triple flip.

The following triple loop was nice and received +0.70, while a
triple Lutz made only the base value. After his choreographed
section, which was rewarded with +0.30, he messed up again, doing a
single Salchow to double toe loop, and losing -0.03 from that
combination’s base value plus 10% of 1.87. He sprang back with a
Level 4 change foot combination spin which gained an extra +0.43,
but his closing move, a Level 2 change foot sit spin received only
its base value. Despite the mistakes, the overall impression was
that this could be a very good vehicle for him. Even with two falls,
he was fourth in the Free, but that served to pull him up only one
place to fifth overall.

The 23-year-old Song is from Beijing. He was the Chinese champion in
2009, 2012 & 2013. He won the 2010 World Junior Championships. He
won silver in the Trophy Bompart GP in 2011, but the following
season, he had a bad collision with Adam Rippon in Skate
Canada and spent overnight in hospital with a concussion. Despite
advice to withdraw from his next Grand Prix, which was a trip back
to France, he insisted on going and finished fifth. This time he was
even lower, 6th, although he did climb a place from his
original 7th with a fifth ranked Free.

He
was first to skate his Short Program. The routine was set to Michael
Kamen’s Guitar Concerto. He opened well with a +0.71 quad toe loop
to triple toe loop, which banked him 15.11 points. But then he was
forced to put a hand on the ice to keep from falling on his triple
Axel. Although his flying camel and change foot sit spin were both
Level 4, they lost -0.09 and -0.04 respectively from the base values
of 3.20 and 3.00. And then he stepped out of his triple Lutz. He did
work at saving some points. His Level 3 steps gained +0.29 and the
final move, a Level 4 change foot combination, gained +0.36.
Although his elements scored the fifth highest marks, he got last
place on the components.

His Free was set to “The Mission”. He got off to a poor start,
tripling his planned quad toe loop although he was able to get
air-born for the second jump, a triple toe loop. The move earned
8.70. Then he made a second try at the Quad toe and badly stepped
out of it. Interestingly, although that was a messy step out
landing, because he did the four revolutions, he ended up with 8.16,
not that far behind his score for his
the initial move of two triple toes, which shows how
important quads are.

He
then presented a good triple Axel to double toe loop for which he
banked 10.37. His Level 4 flying camel spin lost -0.26 but his Level
4 steps received +0.50. His second triple Axel at the halfway mark
lost a full point. The following triple Lutz to double toe had a
small -0.10 removed from the base value plus 10% of 8.03. His triple
loop got an arrow for slight under-rotation, but everything else was
good. His Level 4 change foot sit spin received an extra +0.14. His
triple Salchow received +0.40 GoE and a double Axel earned an extra
+0.14. The choreographed section got +0.30 extra, and he finished
with a change foot combination spin which earned +0.21 over the
Level 4 base value of 3.50. His element score was fourth highest and
his components were seventh best. That put him in fifth in the Free
but it pulled him up only to sixth overall.

This was the 23-year-old’s fourth entry in this event, and his worst
placement. In 2010, he earned silver. In 2011 he was 5th
and then won bronze the following season. To now finish 7th
with a last place in the Free was a disaster for not only him but
the French Association. There is a strain between
Didier Gailhaguet, the
top official in the sport in this country, and their charismatic but
aging star, former world champion
Brian Joubert. Obviously,
Gailhaguet was hoping for a good performance from Amodio, who is now
back in France, being trained by Karia Krier. Amodio is
the current 2012 French champion. (This season’s contest has not
taken place yet.) He first won the title in 2009. He was runner-up
in the two years between that success and last December’s . Amodio
won the European title in 2011 and was fifth in the world
championship in 2012, but his performances in this year Trophee
Bompart were just awful. The flamboyant Amodio has had an up and
down career. He was only 12th in the last Olympics, and
the nature of the sport nowadays, with its emphasis on jumps, mean
no one is assured of an easy ride.

His Short was set to “La Cumparsita” arranged by Sebastier Damiani
and F. Larage. He opened with a quad Salchow which had a messy
landing and got an arrow for slight under-rotation. He scored only
5.40. But the following triple Axel was good and earned 10.07.
However, the following flying camel spin was only Level 1 and the
judges awarded three zeros and six +1s, which resulted in a total
score for this element of only 2.26 points. His steps, though
performed really well, were only Level 2. Although he received a +3
from one judge, and six gave +2 along with two +1s, he banked only
3.53 for that element. Then he did double instead of triple Lutz
which was combined with a triple toe loop. That resulted in 7.21
points. He did pull himself together for the last two spins which
both got Level 4, with +0.21 for the change foot combination, and
-0.01 for the change foot sit. His components ranged from one 6.50
up to one 8.50. He was in fourth on the components, but his element
score was only seventh best. He was, collectively, in fifth going
into the Free Skate.

His many fans were hoping it was just a bad day, but the Free proved
to be even worse. He wore cute red suspenders over a pale blue
shirt. The routine was set to “Under the Moon” by Sebastien Damiani,
“Happy” by “C2C”, and Louis Armstrong’s “La Vie en Rose”. His
initial move, a planned Quad Salchow, turned into a perfectly OK
triple and he banked 5.30. He tried again and fell. Since he had
accomplished the full rotation in the first jump, although he
couldn’t do the planned second jump, he still banked 7.50 less -1
for the fall. Immediately afterwards he fell again on a triple Axel.
Again, because he had completed the full rotation he banked 6.07
less a point for the fall.

The following flying camel spin was only Level 2 but he did get
+0.50 and so earned 2.8. He did much better with his steps, gaining
Level 4 with seven judges giving +2 and the remaining two +1. He
doubled instead of tripled his Axel, which was meant to be combined
with triple toe loop, at the halfway point, He earned only 3.70.
Then, just like the previous day, he did a double instead of triple
Lutz, earning 2.27. He then did a second triple Salchow (earning
4.400 followed by a second double Lutz which had -0.09 removed from
its base value plus 10% of 2.31. Then he presented a Level 2 change
foot combination spin which gained 3.07. His choreographed section
received seven +2s and two +1s, for a total of 3.30. he concluded
with a Level 4 flying camel spin which gained only 0.07 over its
base value of 3.00. One judge still gave all five components in the
8’s. The next highest were two 7.75s and they went down to one 4.75
for Transitions and Linking steps.

Majorov, who is 22, became famous in Sweden in 2011 when he won
bronze in the world junior championship. It was the first ISU figure
skating medal his country had earned in 74 years! It might not have
been a big deal in another country, but this is where
Gilles Grafstrom is still
looked upon as a fabled sportsman. Not one to spare himself, when
asked to comment on his performance, Majorov said, “I had a
catastrophic Short and a not-so-good Free, but at least I was able
to do the difficult elements. It can happen to anyone. You just have
to get back up on your feet and move on.” In fact, although he
finished last, he scored 3.32 points above
Florent Amodio in the
Free, which he performed to “Archangel”.

Majorov, who skated his SP to Khorobushko by Bond, doubled his quad
toe loop and wasn’t able to do the second jump. He added a triple
toe loop to his triple Lutz but stepped out of the second jump. Then
he fell on his triple Axel. But two of his spins were the maximum
Level 4, while the third and his steps were Level 3. Majorov’s
parents, who teach the sport are Russians who emigrated from St.
Petersburg and live in the town of Lulea. His country’s capital,
Stockholm, will host the 2015 European championships. He has a
younger brother, who is his biggest supporter, along with their dog,
Chuck. Majorov was a replacement for Romain Ponsart, who had problems in the French masters event to do
with an inflamed ligament over an old foot fracture. He will have to
have surgery eventually.

Gail Tanger was the Referee; the
Technical Panel was all female. Karen Archer from Britain was the
Controller; Vanessa Gusmeroli was the Technical Specialist and Anett
Potzsch was the Assistant Technical Specialist.